Which Man Are You?

I find that so many believers are trying to make the old man holy. They do that instead of doing what the scriptures teach, which is, we are created brand new in Christ. The old me, the me before Christ, is dead. I buried him when I was baptized. The new me, the me I became after Christ, is alive. It is my responsibility in Christ to live as the new me and not allow the old me to continue to live on. In Romans 8:13, God’s Word Translation, it says, “If you live by your corrupt nature, you are going to die. But if you use your spiritual nature to put to death the evil activities of the body, you will live.” We have a choice: to sin, or not to sin, that is the question we all must answer. That’s what I would like to talk about in this post.

Personal responsibility seems to be a thing of the past. Accepting responsibility for the decisions that we make, and have made, no longer seems to be in vogue. Instead, blame shifting seems to be much more common. We blame others for where we are. We do that to avoid personal responsibility and to avoid accountability for our own actions. But that action/reaction is fraught with error. There is no escape from the responsibility/accountability in the equation that comes with the power to choose. We were given the power to choose: “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!” Deut. 30:19, NLT.

Since the garden of Eden, mankind has always faced two choices. On the one side, eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. On the other side, not eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In other words, we were given a choice in the garden. When Adam sinned, his descendants became subject to sin. Adam sold mankind to sin. Sin’s nature now dominated the human condition. Mankind naturally chose sin. In fact, because of Adam’s sin, all mankind became subject to death. That’s the old man. The old man naturally sins. We shouldn’t be surprised at the evils and atrocities that the old man has and is willing to commit, even in the name of good and God.

The question becomes: Do I try to rehabilitate the old man? Or do I put to death the old man and live by the new man I’ve become? Again, in Christ, the power of choice has been restored. To sin or not to sin is now the question we must answer every day. The Apostle Paul recognized this truth and said, “I face death every day! That is as certain, brothers, as it is that I am proud of you in the Messiah, Jesus our Lord.” 1 Cor. 15:31, ISV. Putting on the new man is a daily decision we must choose. It is a moment by moment responsibility for which we are accountable for. That is the New Testament answer to the question of sin. The answer is not to rehabilitate the old man. Rather, it’s to rise in the life of the new man.

The law, no matter how good and just and righteous that it is, can never give life. No! It only brings death and more death. Keeping the law isn’t, and has never been, the solution. The law can only reveal sin. That sin exists is an inescapable fact that we cannot avoid. We are surrounded by the death every day. Death is the natural order of this world. We live. Then, we die. Death is the inescapable consequence and evidence of sin. When driving by the cemetery or hospital, we see living proof of our sin in real color and real time. No further proof is needed. That is the reality of the old man.

In Christ, we have a new reality demonstrated by a new proof — the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. As Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, so also are we raised from the dead. Once we were dead in trespasses and sins, but now, we are alive. New life, resurrection life, is coursing through our veins, our bones. Our dead bones and bodies can and will be subjected to life, resurrection life. That reality is as sure as the resurrection of Christ from death. Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection is living proof of our life, death, and coming resurrection. Now, the question that remains: Which man do we choose to be? The old man, which is destined for death? Or, the new man, which is destined for life?

Which man do you choose? Trying to rehabilitate your old man will not work. Living in the resurrection power of your new man will work. That’s how we, as believers, are called to live — in the living power of the new man. That’s what being born again is all about. As the Apostle Paul said, “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Gal. 2:20, NLT.

If we are looking to erect a standard in the Church, let’s raise the standard of the cross. The cross is the only place where the old man can die and the new man can come alive. The cross crucifies the old man that the new man may live. Although we have seen the rise of sin in our world, and even in various churches and leaders, let us not try to change the standard of the cross or solution to the problem of sin. We cannot! There is only one solution to the problem of sin — Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. For the believer, that means living as a new man in the power of the Holy Spirit. For the unbeliever, that means becoming a new man by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I have set before you this day life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore, choose life. That life is in the new man not the old man. Choose the new man! Choose life! Why? That you and your seed may live.

Let us pray!

— Scott Wallis