“…put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”Ephesians chapter 4 verses: 24
When a man is regenerated, he might not be different from others in the way he attends to the common business of life. He could be behind the same counter as other men, selling off the same lot of goods, at the same prices; yet one is there doing his own will, and the other doing God’s will; the one pleasing himself the other pleasing his Master. It is possible that both the regenerated and the unregenerated man may be following the plow, each to raise the same crop, yet each with a perfectly opposite ultimate end in view; the one to gratify self, the other to gratify God.
Whereas their physical detailing may still look like before their motives and ultimate end are just as really different now, as they will be when one of them shall be in heaven and the other in hell. Then, as now, the real difference will be only this; the one is supremely selfish; the other is supremely benevolent; the one cares only to please himself, and the other only to please God.
There may be two students, pursuing the same studies, in the same class, attending the same recitation; they study equally well and may appear externally in all points alike, yet one is the old man and the other the new man. While the old man, is striving to mount up over the heads of all his class-mates, panting for fame, seeking great things for himself; The new man will bow his whole heart to God’s will, study only because God would have him, and seeks only to please God by doing all His will.
Even in some cases where you have two young men, both preaching the gospel; both may even pray much alike; and both could have the external air of piety, yet the Omniscient Eye sees one of them as supremely selfish. He is selfish, even in his prayers, for, in all, his eye looks never beyond his good. The other has crucified himself, lives now for God and the good of his race, and preaches and prays out of love to souls and love to Christ; this is a new man and the other is the old man.
Thus the external developments may be so similar, yet there is a distinction between them. It is often impossible to know the hearts of others from mere external manifestations. Everyone comes into this house of God to worship, apparently alike; some come in the spirit of the old man, and others in the spirit of the regenerated soul. Persons often fail to make this discrimination in many cases. One could possibly know one’s heart if a man would honestly and deeply search himself, and take cognizance of his motives and all the deep springs of his action; but often, very often does not, and hence deceive himself. He hardly goes to the bottom of his heart.
Anyone who fails to subject himself to a thorough search of the heart will likely hypocritically flatter himself while he is still in his deep corruption. Possibly he may put on a decent dress and is often comparing his life with the life of real, and spiritual Christians. Yeah, he called himself, that he is a real Christian. Indeed he often takes pride in making his external conduct quite unexceptionable and hopes to get a double reward for this good life.
A nominal Christian is like someone looking at himself in a mirror for a while but soon forgets all about it. While they go after the world in seasons of declension without disturbing their hope of salvation., they also want to be as good as most others, which they seem to suppose will bring them up into heaven with the mass. They are trapped in false eternal security. In a revival they wake themselves up, often tardily, yet when they must, they yield to the general influence and come along; bustle perhaps full enough for their credit and seem to reform, but this is only an attempt to reform the old man and his deeds nothing else.
Hence sinners often made the mistake of condemning the conduct of Christians. They condemn Christians for doing the same things as they are doing. They say, “You, professedly holy men, eat and drink, buy and sell, plow and study, just as we do; wherein are you better than we?” The mistake is, that the wicked do not consider that while the external course is the same, the motive and the moral character of the course may be in one case right, and the other utterly wrong. The wicked man has no right to assume that the Christian acts from the same motives as himself, merely because he pursues the same business.
Many mistakes the apathy of the unregenerated mind for the peace of a Child of God. The unregenerated mind sometimes becomes apathetic, vastly calm, and indifferent to passing events, and this seems to him, like that deep calm, that the Christian feels because his own Father is at the helm. Nothing can be a greater mistake. The sinner’s soul is a perfect stranger, to the Christian’s deep heavenly, peace-begetting trust in God.
Many mistakes the zeal and legal bustle of the unregenerated mind for the holy fervor of those that are redeemed. Legalists are usually very very zealous; they strive hard to do some great thing and often make a splendid bustle, and you would think that verily, they were about to convert the world in a twelve-month; now they look back upon these developments, and comparing themselves with active Christians, they judge themselves to have the holy fervor and divine love of apostles and martyrs. Yet in fact, their motives and spirit are just like the Jehus; “come, say they, come, see my zeal for the Lord of hosts.” Perhaps they think that they outstrip most real Christians.
Often men mistake the impatience of the unregenerated mind for the holy jealousy of the devoted Christian. The unregenerated mind frets at sinners because they sin, feels indignant at such horrible wrong-doing; but points out to him his sins, and presses his conscience to repent and confess, But he does not think that he is doing something similarly wrong, under his circumstances; he has nothing particular to confess. His heart is not quite so indignant against sin in himself as against sin in others. Nevertheless, he often takes credit to himself for holy indignation against sin. The real Christian feels holy indignation; Christ felt it and often could not repress it, yet it was holy jealousy for the honor of God, and not a fitful irritation against wrongdoing because it might injure some of his interests, or because it offended against his virtuous principles.
Often men fail to distinguish between the selfish sorrow of the unregenerated mind and the godly sorrow of those that are born of God. The child of God remembers his former sins with great sorrow; his soul is weighed down within him, and often his tears gush out in the very streets, as he is reminded of his past deeds of shame and guilt; but not so the unregenerated mind. He has a sort of sorrow for his old sins, especially if they have affected his reputation. But you do not see him loathing himself in his sight for all his secret abominations. Yet he counts his tears for sin and thinks he has the sorrows of the real penitent.
Moreover, many mistakes the selfish joys of the unregenerated mind for the spiritual joys of the righteous one. The former however begin and end in selfishness; the man is pleased when good comes to himself, that is all. The latter rejoices in God, yea in God, who is his exceeding joy. He is happy when others get good, though he has none.
The hope of the unregenerated mind is to be happy in heaven, but the condition and the requirement mean a thing of small care or thought to him. Whereas the Christian’s hope is beautifully sketched by the apostle, “We know,” he says, “that when Christ shall appear we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifies himself, even as He is pure.” The hope of a regenerated mind rests on being holy, not merely nor directly on being happy. No. His glorious hope is that he shall be perfectly, universally, eternally holy. Give him this, and you gratify the ruling passion of his soul.
There is also another mistake often made of the turbulence and fanaticism of the unregenerated mind for the holy firmness and faithfulness of the regenerated mind. See that man finding fault, very censorious, and how turbulent; he can denounce everything, in most unmeasured terms, yet under the self-soothing pretense of being faithful to his fellow men. He means to clear his skirts of the blood of souls, so he traduces his brethren and measures off denunciations, in a most terrible manner. If you ask him, the reason for such attitude, he will refer you to Christ and to the prophets of old who had the word of the Lord shut up in their bones, and he might say, did not Christ denounce? But is such a person not like someone? that is trying to cast out devils through Beelzebub? With the very spirit of Satan, can he drive Satan out of his brethren?
The regenerated mind is different. He is firm and faithful, but his spirit breathes gentleness and love. I do not say that every Christian is always bold and firm, nor that all who have been converted continue through life to act out the renewal of the mind and live in Christ only; happy if it were so. But while they do act the regenerated mind, they are firm without malevolence; faithful without bitter denunciation.
The presumption of the carnal mind is not the same as the faith of someone walking in the spirit. The former often talks of his great faith, and assumes to have more than his brethren, but it is all presumption; he pursues such a life and has such a spirit that he has no right to trust God for anything but damnation. The self-will of the carnal mind is not the same as the conscientiousness of the regenerated mind. They are obstinate, unyielding; yet it is only self-will. a committal of the will, and not the demand of an enlightened conscience.
The regenerated mind exercises constitutional tendencies as spiritual developments This is different from natural humanity and kindness. A gospel benevolence; conscientiousness of natural character, for that conscientiousness which is created, trained, and expanded in the school of Christ. Only a spiritual mind will make such distinctions. The qualities of regeneration can never be apprehended without experience. Yet it is a vastly desirable attainment to be able to distinguish between what originates with self, and what originates with the Spirit of God. There is a need to distinguish between pleasing the self and pleasing God.
The carnal and Spiritual mind are two things that are opposite to each other. In eating, in all labor, and in the study, we should be careful to know whether we are doing all to please God, or to please ourselves.
We should always ask ourselves, the reason behind whatever we say or do. Why am I doing this and why that? It is almost impossible to labor together with the Spirit of God during our sanctification unless we get hold of the real distinctions between holy consecration, and refined selfishness.
Some nominal Christians, constantly do deceive and flatter themselves. They take credit for much that they do as good which is purely selfish. Thereby they build themselves up on self-righteousness, but this is only a foundation that the last flood will sweep away, and great will be the fall of it. Even when sinners do some of the same things externally that Christians are doing, both are not acting from the same motive. The carnal mind is constantly corrupt. There is nothing good in him. Yeah, ‘I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing.’ No good originates there. You can say no good thing about the unregenerated mind. He is wholly evil. You can place no confidence in him for anything really good. He is wholly selfish and will do anything to carry his selfish ends.
The converted person may sin, but if he does, it is because the old man is not dead, but rises and rules, gaining a temporary ascendancy. The old man is exceedingly tenacious in life. It seems as if you might kill him a thousand times and yet he lives. You gain the victory over him; you crush him down and he seems breathless; you flatter yourself he is dead and buried, but not long, he comes up, with the old disgusting carcass, breathing out its fouled stench; your spiritual strength becomes a weakness, and perhaps under this baleful influence, you return like the dog to his vomit. The converted man falls into selfishness, and when he sees it, he loathes it! Horrible! Detestable! He would fain spare his very self out of his soul!
Ah! That old man, how he will live and keep coming up; and so there will be a tendency to this more or less while we are in the flesh; we must watch, and often have to fight, and often kill our old man over and over again. Yet through Christ, we may come off more than conquerors.
Thus the bible says that a spiritual man is exceedingly jealous of the old man. He will always be watching his old enemy, and will never trust him at all. Yet, alas, even the spiritual are sometimes deceived by the old man and are lured into a selfish state, before they are fully aware of it. But when they come to see it, O, how they loath the abomination! I have known persons so deeply disgusted with themselves for their selfishness as actually vomit. O, how horrid and how loathsome!
Just think of that young man, who goes out to preach. He has prepared his sermon. Suddenly some thoughts flash through his mind, to get in some choice and splendid paragraphs, that look very classical with elegant expression, something like a fine philosophical illustration, to show the people that he is a scholar and a genius.” Thereafter, he goes out to the pulpit. He went at length to make a good impression for himself; so when he returns to his home and his closet; there the truth flashes upon him. Alas! he has been serving himself serving himself, none else but self, not Christ, but his great self! O! How he loathes this abomination! He is disgusted, and turns away from himself as if he had met the very devil! He is ready to vomit or even spit in his face!
Brethren, there are many of the devices of the devil we should be aware of! that is a game of the devil, such letting up of self, such a resurrection of the old man in your heart. So Beware!
Whereas No evil can be said of the regenerated mind. Understanding this term the new, regenerated heart, it does nothing wrong. This is the new life in Christ and no better test of the life of a new creature can be had than this.
Beloved, how is this with you? Does the religion you possess make you new creatures in Christ Jesus, or does it leave your old selfishness still reigning and is only somewhat dressed over perhaps, and fitted out sometimes in a Sunday suit? Beloved let us put on the new man who is truly born of God, and molded into His divine image!