The New Life

Having looked at the “Old Man” and the “New Man,” we come now to the “New Life” that we have in Christ, as the Apostle Paul details in Ephesians 4:25-32. Here is the practical consideration of walking in purity. We find here, in fact, one of the most vitally important sections of living the Christian life to be found in the Scriptures.

The importance of this passage cannot be overemphasized. For decades well meaning men have come up with various lists of “dos and don’ts” for conduct. Pastor Ray Stedman recalls as a young Christian hearing a little jingle from what he calls the “thou shalt not variety” of Christianity: “Rooty-toot-toot! Rooty-toot-toot! / We are the boys from the Institute. / We don’t smoke, and we don’t chew. / And we don’t go out with girls that do.”

Legalistic Christian living has been around for countless years, and different teachers dub various things as being “worldly” and therefore forbidden for the Christian, including: smoking, drinking, dancing, gambling, going to the theater, television, playing cards, pants on women, makeup, and so forth. “Doing” and/or “not” doing are then the gauges of spirituality. I’ve seen some churches, in fact, that demand prospective members sign an agreement not to do such things before being allowed to join the church, but I’ve yet to find a verse in either Acts or the Epistles that teaches such a rule.

The problem with such lists, of course, is that they are man-made, and because of that, one man’s list is different from another man’s list. We are, therefore, left with no absolutes for conduct; we are left with relative guidelines that are generated by men’s opinions, personal preferences, and often just plain self-righteousness. More important, such lists miss the point of true spirituality, namely, it’s not the outside that matters as much as the inside. “But doesn’t being a Christian mean that there are certain things we won’t do?” it is asked. Of course, but it is not men’s job to define what these things are.

What we find before us, therefore, is one of “God’s lists for conduct.” There are other such lists in Scripture—the one in Proverbs 6:16-19, for example, perhaps being the most exhaustive and all-encompassing—but the list here is unique in its specific application to the Christian. Again, Paul is merely elaborating on and applying the general principles he has already laid down in his discussions concerning the “Old Man” and the “New Man.” As we study this vital passage, we should notice two principles.

First, Paul gives us the negative, that is, what each sin is and what it involves. There are actually four major sins listed here—lying, unrighteous vengeance, stealing, and corrupt speech—and then an additional summary statement. This list is unique because these sins are the most common sins to be found in human behavior and are, therefore, the ones most likely to creep subtlety back into the Believer’s life. These are the things we are continually putting away (Greek apotithēmi, “taking off and discarding like an old garment”).

Second, Paul then gives us the positive, the reason and motive for keeping each of these sins out of our lives. Yes, the main reason for this is because they are sin, and God says get rid of them Paul goes deeper, however, than just “thou shalt not,” which would be little more than legalism. Rather with each one he gives a greater motive. We see here, then, five contrasts: (1) Taking off lying to put on truth (v. 25); (2) Taking off unrighteous vengeance to put on righteous anger (vs. 26-27); (3) Taking off stealing to put on laboring (v. 28); (4) Taking off corrupt speech to put on good speech (v. 29); (5) Taking off natural reactions to put on spiritual actions (vs. 30-32). This will outline studies to come.