Put Off…Put On…

Sorry it has been so long since we have put anything on the Blog. This summer was insanely busy for Transform Student Ministry. With Boot Camp ’06 and many other events behind us we are back and hope to be updating the blog more often (btw…check out http://www.transformstudent.org/ for downloads of Boot Camp pics and messages)!

Many of us struggle in our day to day lives with “living the Christian life.” I personally know how hard it is…each morning when I wake up my heart is to live a life that brings glory and honor to God…yet each night I go to bed and look back over my day and see all the areas I failed in (to top it all off it’s usually the same stuff time and again). Currently, we are going through the Covenant Precept Upon Precept study on Tuesday mornings with a group of Homeschoolers. This week’s lesson entitled “The Exchanging of Two Robes,” helped me answer my own question, “How do I live the Christian life?”

We studied 1 Samuel 18:1-5 and saw where Jonathan loved David so much he wanted to make a covenant with him. The text tells us that “Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, including his sword and his bow and his belt.” We learned that this type of covenant, exchanging of robes, signified an identity change. When Jonathan gave David his robe along with all the other stuff, he was giving David access to his identity. He was telling David in that act that everything he (Jonathan) had, now belonged to David. For me, this story seemed a little strange. Why would one guy love another guy so much that he gave him his robe? Why would one guy love another guy so much that he wanted him to have his identity?

The study then took us to the New Testament and it started to make a whole lot more sense! In the New Testament God makes a covenant with His believers. He gives us the gift of Christ to put on. Galatians 3:26-27 states, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”

Okay, so…as a Christian I have clothed myself with Christ…so what? What does this look like? Our studies took us to several different scriptures which I highly recommend you look up and read (Romans 13:12-14; Ephesians 4:17-32; and Colossians 3:1-17). In working through each of these I saw that I am to “put off” the old and “put on” the new. What does this look like? I learned in Romans that I am to lay aside deeds of darkness…carousing, drunkenness, sexual promiscuity, sensuality, strife and jealousy…all of those are part of my old self. In Ephesians I saw that my new self is in the likeness of God, created in righteousness and holiness of truth.

Like Jonathan gave David his robe for identity…God has given me His identity through Christ who “…emptied Himself, taking on the form of a bond servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:7-8) It’s amazing to see that in order for me to put on Christ…He had to put on flesh and the suffer death on a cross! What? Say it again…Christ came to earth as a man died then rose again to new life…so that I can put on the new self!

The truth: Christ died and set me free…but, each morning I have a choice to either put on the deeds of my flesh, or put on my identity in Christ.

So…how do I live the Christian life? I make the choice to put on Christ and walk in truth, trusting Him to show me the parts of my life that need to be more like Him. The freedom is knowing that I no longer have to try in my own strength to be holy and righteous…I have Hisstrength in me because I am “robed” in Him.