You've been washed, so keep yourself clean.
Colossians 3:5-11
5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
Listen to passage & devotional:
Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 34: The Sacrament of Baptism
We believe and confess that Jesus Christ,
in whom the law is fulfilled,
has by his shed blood
put an end to every other shedding of blood,
which anyone might do or wish to do
in order to atone or satisfy for sins.
Having abolished circumcision,
which was done with blood,
he established in its place
the sacrament of baptism.
By it we are received into God’s church
and set apart from all other people and alien religions,
that we may be dedicated entirely to him,
bearing his mark and sign.
It also witnesses to us
that he will be our God forever,
since he is our gracious Father.
Therefore he has commanded
that all those who belong to him
be baptized with pure water
“in the name of the Father,
and the Son,
and the Holy Spirit.”
In this way he signifies to us
that just as water washes away the dirt of the body
when it is poured on us
and also is seen on the body of the baptized
when it is sprinkled on him,
so too the blood of Christ does the same thing internally,
in the soul,
by the Holy Spirit.
It washes and cleanses it from its sins
and transforms us from being the children of wrath
into the children of God.
So ministers,
as far as their work is concerned,
give us the sacrament and what is visible,
but our Lord gives what the sacrament signifies—
namely the invisible gifts and graces;
washing, purifying, and cleansing our souls
of all filth and unrighteousness;
renewing our hearts and filling them
with all comfort;
giving us true assurance
of his fatherly goodness;
clothing us with the “new man” and stripping off the “old,”
with all its works.
Summary
In Paul’s letter to the Colossians, he wrote to encourage a church who was struggling with the influence of false teachers. These false teachers were promoting the addition of works-based requirements to the Gospel that Jesus taught. These teachings amount to heresy because when you add to or take away from the Gospel, you are left with something that is not the Gospel.
When addressing these false teachings, Paul wrote on the new self vs the old self. The things that are earthly, which he lists as sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed are all associated with the old self. These are the things that followers of Christ are called to leave behind.
In addition to this list of five sins, Paul also names anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language as things to abstain from. These, again, are associated with the old self. Paul then singles out lying as another characteristic of the old self to leave behind. Instead of clinging to the things of the world, the Colossians are instead encouraged to clothe themselves with the new self.
Dig Deeper
Paul will sometimes use imagery or real-life examples to explain theological concepts. The old self he speaks of is who you were before you came to faith in Jesus Christ. The new self is who you are in Christ. When Paul tells the Colossians to put to death what is earthly, he is encouraging them not to live into these things associated with the world.
The Belgic Confession speaks into this truth. Since through Christ you have become a benefactor of the many graces of Christ, live into this new self. Just as you would not remove a clean shirt to replace it with a dirty one, leave behind those things which are considered the practices of the old self.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who is renewing us in His image;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that each day you will reflect less of your old self and more of your new self;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year! Today: John 19
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