My Old Man

But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Ephesians 4:20-34

For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Romans 6:5-6

Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
Colossians 3:5-11

Have you put aside your old man? Or do you still see him sometimes? We understand what these verses are telling us to do: to put away those things that are not Christ-like, those things which are worldly, those things which are sin. And not only that, but we to begin doing those things which are Christ-like, which are spiritual, which are righteous. It should be as though we are an entirely different person from what we once were. Paul writes that Christians were once among the worst of people (I Corinthians 6:9-11), but after choosing to follow Christ, we are changed. Peter writes a similar concept in I Peter 4:3: that we have spent enough time doing the things of the world before we converted.

So are we really living in such a way as to be a new man? Or are we the same old man with some camouflage to make us seem more religious? If we want to live with Christ for eternity, we must put on the new man. Interestingly enough, there is someone else we are supposed to put on, isn't there?

For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Galatians 3:27
If we are to put on the new man, and we are to put on Christ...the obvious implication is that the new man must be like Christ. And that before put on the new man, we are not like Christ, but like His enemies, those who oppose Him. There is no middle ground. So are you the old man, or the new man?

"Who am I?"

In Exodus 3:7-12, Moses' first excuse to God for trying to get out of going to Egypt is to ask, “Who am I?” Is this not a question we ask? “Who am I? I can't make a difference!” And yet we know what a difference Moses made. If we look through the scriptures, we see time and again a single person making a tremendous difference.

In Genesis 18:23-33, what difference would there have been if there had been only 10 righteous people in Sodom? Later, when Israel set about conquering the promised land, thank of the difference Rahab made in hiding the spies (Joshua 2:1-7). And just a short time later, think of the difference made by Achan, when he hid loot in his tent after the destruction of Jericho, and the deaths that were the consequence (Joshua 7:1-15). In the 17th chapter of I Samuel, we see several individuals having a great impact on nations. Goliath caused the entire Israelite army to fear and remain in place. What an impact he had! And then, when David, one individual, did something about it, the Israelites took heart and the Philistines fled. Or think of Esther, and the difference she made: she saved the entire Hebrew people.

And it's not only in the Old Testament that we see such a huge difference being made by individuals. If not for John, who would prepare the way for Christ (Matthew 3:1-12)? Or consider what difference was made by Judas Iscariot (Mark 14:10-11, 43-45). In John 4:39-42, we see a woman having a great impact in bringing others to Christ. Or consider the impacts that Saul/Paul had. When we first see Saul, he is persecuting the church, causing concern among all Christians (Acts 8:1-3). Later, consider the difference Paul makes in his traveling, preaching, and writing.

Time and again, individuals make a huge impact. If they can make a difference, we can too. We are told that the great men and women and faith provide us with evidence that it can be done.
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:1-2

So what can I do to make a difference? What can you do to make a difference? We can teach, whether by word or example or by print, formally or informally. We can encourage, whether in word or by card. We can train our children. We can do good works and lend a helping hand where it is needed. Whether for good or for evil, each of us will make a difference in this life. Will we make a positive difference, like David? Or will the difference we make be detrimental, like Achan?

Translations and Paraphrases

We are surrounded by different translations of the Bible. Each one often represented by what seems an incomprehensible list of letters: KJV, NKJV, ASV, NASB, NIV, ESV, YLT, and so on. In addition to translations, there are a great many paraphrases being sold, most famously The Message and The Living Bible. So what is the difference between all of these? Why are there so many?

First, we need to recognize the difference between a translation and a paraphrase. A translation is the original words translated from the original language (be it Hebrew, Aramaic, or Koine Greek) into another language (in our case, English). Effort is put into making sure that the meaning of individual words are not lost, and that each word is as accurately translated as possible. A paraphrase, on the other hand, is when a person or group of persons looks at a translation, then paraphrases it according to what they think it means. Rather than going to the original language and striving to give specific meanings to words, the effort is made to give the idea of the entire text. While this is often easy to read, the meaning of the text is often lost or changed dramatically. After all, if a person is paraphrasing the scriptures, they are really just stating what they think it means. And as most people know, there are a great many outlandish and just plain wrong beliefs about what the Lord has said.

For study of the scriptures, it is best to use a solid, dependable translation. Typically, those that are recommended are the King James Version, the New King James Version, the New American Standard, and the English Standard Version. It's difficult to find, but the American Standard Version is also a very accurate translation. For “heavy” study, a literal translation (in which the syntax of sentences is not modernized, etc.) can be useful (such as Young's Literal Translation), but these make for difficult reading. Paraphrases can be useful as commentaries, but have a great many short failings. Consider these examples of Colossians 2:10:

And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power
(King James Version – KJV)

and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.
(New International Version – NIV)

and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;
(New American Standard – NASB)

and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power
(New King James Version – NKJV)

and in him ye are made full, who is the head of all principality and power
(American Standard – ASV)

and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.
(English Standard Version – ESV)

and in him ye are made full who is the head of all principality and authority
(Young's Literal Translation – YLT)

You don't need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ.
(The Message - TM)

It is easy to see, in this and in many other places in scripture, the difference between a translation and a paraphrase. As we will be judged by the word (John 12:48, Hebrews 4:12), is it not best to use a solid and dependable translation in our striving to follow Christ? Moreover, dare we stand guilty of changing what the Lord has said? In Revelation 22:18-19, as well as in many other places in scripture, we are warned against changing what the Lord has said. Doing so is wrong, and we stand condemned if we do so.

What Must I Believe?

This is a question that is often asked, is it not? People who want to know if they are ready to be baptized ask this question. People who teach others ask this question in helping to know if a person is ready to obey the gospel. And it's often given long answers. Often we may answer it with explanations of various doctrines. Yet the Bible gives us several short, easy to understand answers to this question.

Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.

I John 5:1

And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Matthew 16:16
We must believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that He is the Christ. We must believe that He is long prophecied and awaited Messiah that came for our salvation.

And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
I Corinthians 15:14
We must believe that Jesus was crucified for our sins, died, was buried, and rose again on the third day.

And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
Hebrews 5:9
We must know that He is our Savior if we obey Him. The belief that we must obey Him is vitally important if we are going to actually obey Him.

If we consider passages that deal with the conversion of individuals (Acts 2,8, & 9 for example) , we see very simple initial belief in these things. This is the starting point, the point of choosing to follow the Lord. On Pentecost, Peter told the people gathered who the Christ was, and told them what they needed to do in order to be saved (Acts 2:38). In Acts 8, Philip teaches the Ethiopian Eunuch who makes the good confession as Peter had done, and responds obediently in baptism to be saved. In Acts 9, The Lord appears to Paul, telling Paul who He is. Paul then believes and responds in obedient baptism.

Our initial faith is in just a few key points. And after we obey, consider how we grow in Christ! (Hebrews 5:12-6:3) Consider how much more there is! This initial faith is not the end of our walk with Christ. It is the very beginning.

Walking in Ephesians

In the Bible, the Christian's life is often compared with walking. The comparison is made to how we walk and the conditions in which we walk. It is, after all, an analogy we understand. So how is our walk? Are we walking in the ways that God tells us to?

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10

Are we walking in good works? Are we living a live in which we strive to do godly things in godly ways? Do we do our utmost to obey God? If not, we are falling short of how we are to walk in this life.

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

Ephesians 4:1

Are we walking in a manner that is worthy of the name of Christ that we wear? Our vocation is “Christian.” Are we living a life which is worthy of such a name? Or are we pretending to be such? We must be careful to walk in such a worthy manner!

And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

Ephesians 5:2

Are we walking in love towards God? If so, we will strive to do as He wants. If so, we will give thanks for what He has done. If so, we will rejoice and tell others the gospel. Are we walking in love towards others? If so, we will strive to put their needs above our own. If so, we will work hard to do good unto all.

For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

Ephesians 5:8

Are we walking as children of light? Or do we live lives of darkness and sin, separated by God by our iniquity? We know that the word illuminates our way, that it is provided by our Father that we may see how to walk (Psalm 119:105). Are we His faithful children in walking in that light? In our obedience?

See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Ephesians 5:15-16

Are we walking wisely? Are we taking the effort to think through what we do and ask the question, “Is this wise?” There is much in scripture that is not laid out for us with direct statements or commands. Yet we see principles that we can use wisely, in accordance with what God wants, to follow Him. Are we doing so?

This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind

Ephesians 4:17

Or are we walking as we should not: as the unbeliever walks, falsely feeling secure in ourselves?