What to Take Off and What to Put On
A letter about what to take off 
In his letter to the church at Ephesus, Paul gives clear directions on “the way we should live.” [Ephesians 4:24-32] After his discourse about being new creatures in Christ, Paul addresses the need to be like God: “truly good and holy.”
Paul tells us how to do that. It doesn’t work to just take off an old garment. The old garment is comfortable and we feel “at home” in it because it is something we’ve worn for a long time. It’s hard to take off the comfortable and put on something starchy and stiff. Yet, when we wear the new, in time it becomes familiar and comfortable. Scripture tell us that we must take off the old garment if we want to live a holy life. We must replace it with a new garment. We discard the old and wear the new.
What to put on
Paul gives specific steps for what to stop and what to start – what to take off and what to put on.
| TAKE OFF – STOP! | PUT ON – YES, DO THIS! |
| Telling lies | Tell each other the truth |
| Sinning when angry | Be angry without sinning |
| Stealing | Work and earn an honest living and share with others |
| Saying harmful things | Use words that help others become stronger |
| Being angry and saying hurtful things | Be kind and forgiving |
Put on and Live like new creatures!
When we do these things, we live like new creatures instead of old ones. Satan wants nothing more than to have us go back into the natural mode. We forget that the comfortableness of the natural mode is binding and defeating.
Living like we should brings freedom. It clears our minds and our motives. The more we put on the new, the more comfortable it becomes. Yet, this does not come without work and persistence.
Newness brings a change that others can see. We can’t hide the new creature we become when we become new creatures, when we take off the old and put on the new.
Photo Credits: pixabay.com and Shawn Bailey
