Have nothing to do with sexual sin, impurity, lust, and shameful desires. Don’t be greedy for the good things of this life, for that is idolatry.
3:6 God’s terrible anger will come upon who do such things.
So we keep our focus on the things of heaven, not the things on earth. Those things mentioned in the previous verse are temporary “feel” good ideas. When our hearts and minds are on things of God we will not feel tempted for the temporary fixes of this life. We live for heaven, we live for heavenly ideas. Sin destroys people’s lives. Sin separates people from God. Christ had to die on the cross because of sin. That is why God is angry about sin. Romans 2:1-16 explains about how God will judge sin in the future. What does this mean to us, who are saved through our love of Jesus? If we honestly try to turn away from our sin, we still fall prey to these human things. We all lust for things, desire comfort? I think it is our heart that matters most. I pray that when we stand before God the Father we are indeed covered by Jesus. Does God take in account our faithfulness in pursuing him? This is when I get confused and unsure of everything that we have been talking about!
3:7 You used to do them when your life was still part of this world.
Yes when I was separated from God and unsaved my appetite for those wicked things was more prevalent but now I am still guilty of some of those things. I wish it were not so but I fear that it is. I have a new nature, I have put on Christ but I still find myself wanting things, desiring comfort, security.
3:8 But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language.
I do feel like I have a handle on these things. The taming of the tongue was a long process but I feel like through Christ I am able to control my tongue. I know that out of the mouth comes what is inside the heart.
3:9 Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old evil nature and all its wicked deeds.
Yes we have stripped off the old nature and with it the old habits. No lying ever! Hard one to keep, how many times has someone asked you for your opinion and you didn’t give it, you simply said what they wanted to hear or something to build them up. Thank God for the Holy Spirit who gives us strength to do these hard things. We live in a world that is so full of lies, so full of untruth, so blurry that the world can not even see the truth when it is said.
3:10 In its place you have clothed yourselves with a brand-new nature that is continually being renewed as you learn more and more about Christ, who created this new nature within you.
Praise Jesus there is hope, we are continually being renewed as we learn and grow in Christ!!! I am so thankful for this verse after the others. What I am getting from these 5 verses is it is a process! We mature as we grow in Christ, with each new gift that the Holy Spirit gives us it purifies us even more, we will never be perfected until we are with are Brother Jesus in heaven. The process is what God wants from us, for us to draw close to him, to care about the things he cares about, to mature, and to put our sin to death through maturity not through self discipline but through love and faith.
3:11 In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave or fee. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.
Paul ends this point on a good note, so glad about that!! Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. Love covers a multitude of sins, Christ covers us. This verse is also telling those people of the day that the law does not matter; Christ came for all of us!
Dear Father,
Thank you for your word and for your loving faithful spirit among us. I ask that you infuse within us your power, your wisdom, and give us a heart like Christ. A heart that would do anything for you, a heart that loves like your Son Jesus. Amen
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