If you have any children in your house this is an obvious exercise. But what about looking in the mirror before you go out for the day… have you changed your clothes? The Bible has quite a bit to say about the subject, but some take the message the wrong way.
Paul was very clear in his letter to the Galatians and the Colossians… we already have new clothes:
Gal 3:27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Col 3:10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,
If you are the bride of Christ, if you have been identified with Him, then you “have” put on Christ. But then it appears that he delivers a different message to the Ephesian and the Romans:
Eph 4:23-24 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Rom 13:13-14 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
Our old Adamic nature (our old soulish nature; the old man) is compared with a set of dirty clothes, and we need to understand what we’re supposed to do about it. The Galatians and Colossians verses say the we have already put on new clothes, but in Ephesians and Romans we are told that we need to put them on. Well, they’re both true! Just like He does in all the scriptures, the Holy Spirit tells us that we “have” the blessing, but we need to “exercise” the blessing. The gift is ours and the power is ours, but we have to do our part if we are to enjoy the blessings.
When we come home at night, we put our dirty clothes away and put on fresh, clean clothes in the morning… or do we (I hope so)? That’s the point here. Only we are to put on the new man, not just once in the morning, but hour-by-hour throughout the day we are to put off the old and put on the new. There are those times when we need to come to the Lord for new clothes many times throughout the day; laying aside the old nature for the cleansing of the new. Then there are those days when we get ready to go to bed and we find that our clothes are not really that soiled… what a joy those days are!
God’s provision for us in His grace is so wonderful. We can always have the joy of laying aside the old dirty clothes and putting on a clean, fresh set. And all it takes is just a moment’s time spent with our bridegroom, asking Him to cleanse us based upon the fact that he has “already” cleansed us in His death. Now we can come to Him and take advantage of the provision He has made for us in giving us His righteousness, the righteousness in His resurrection from the dead.
The old man is dead, we are no longer slaves to sin! We no longer have to wear dirty clothes!
So, when our old soulish nature turns back to the things it used to crave, when we find our clothes becoming soiled, we need to stop right where we are and change. And the Lord has made available to us as many fresh sets as we need each and every day. We need not walk through our day in dirty clothes (the Holy Spirit tells us not to). If we are, then we aren’t doing our part.
Remember, Jesus’ paid the most costly price for our new clothes. He has freely given them to us. It seems pretty clear to me that we shouldn’t then be running around in dirty clothes. We need to stop and put on clean ones. The world needs to see our brand new set of clothes. Maybe they might just ask us where we got them. After all…
Rom 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.