SCRIPTURE: Colossians 3:5, 9-10 – Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature … Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
COMMENTARY: Yes, need to be done with sin and it is going to take us killing it off to be done with it. We also need to find a way to begin enjoying God at the same time. It is a laying off of one thing to put on another and Paul makes it easy to picture with some imagery of clothing.
When you realize you’ve just dripped ketchup down the front of your shirt you recognize it is dirty and you take it off and, in my case, toss it down the laundry chute. Then you put on something clean.
These are choices that we can make. We must clothe ourselves in Christ’s love, strength and wisdom. But how do we know what to dress ourselves in? Seek his Spirit’s guidance through prayer, in the Scriptures and through Christian counsel. Hebrews 11:6 says, “he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
REFLECTION: Describe what it means to put a sin “to death”. What are some of your sins you need to spiritually kill? Are these obvious or hidden to others? Does that make a difference in your commitment to be ruthless with them? What might happen to someone who focuses only on getting rid of their sin without shifting their attention to the love and strength of God? How can you seek a greater knowledge of God? Make a list of things you can put on from Colossians 3:12-17?
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