The Vision (6.20.25): Putting on the New Man

 

Image: Butterfly bush, North Garden, Virginia, June 2025.

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on Ephesians 4:17-24.

Ephesians 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Paul uses here an inspired metaphor, based on taking off and putting on clothing.

First, in v. 22, he exhorts the Ephesians believers to “put off…the old man.” This is a call to put off the old way of life, the way one lived when he was unregenerate.

When you get your clothes soiled and dirty, you take them off and you put on fresh and clean clothes.

Paul then exhorts, “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind” (v. 23). In Romans 12:1-2 Paul urged believers not to be conformed to this world but to be “transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

Paul then exhorts in v. 24: “And that ye put on the new man….”

Taking off the old man is one part of the transformation, but it is necessarily accompanied by a second part: putting on the new man.

Some theologians rightly speak of the necessity of both mortification (putting to death the old ways) and vivification (coming to life to the new ways). We need both.

R. C. Sproul offered the following thoughts on this passage:

Once I have been made alive to God through his divine initiative, quickened by his regenerating grace, my heart now throbs with spiritual life. There is now a radical discontinuity between my new self and my old self. It is not a total discontinuity.  A link remains between the old and the new man. The old man has been dealt a death blow, his destination is certain, but he is not yet dead. As Christians we are to feed the new man with all the means of grace that God has appointed and at the same time starve the old man denying him the occasions for sin (Ephesians,115-116).

The saved man not only gives up swearing, but he uses his tongue to bless.

The saved man not only gives up lust, but he gives his mind to wholesome and chaste thought.

The saved man not only gives up gluttony and sloth, but he takes up health and diligence.

Paul emphasizes here that the new man is a work of God’s creation. God made the world by his fiat power, and he makes new believers by that same power: “which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”

In 2 Corinthians 5:17 Paul likewise states that “if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

May the Lord help us, in this age, continually to put off the old man and put on the new man, until the time when, by God’s grace, we enter into the state of glory.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

The Vision (7.5.24): Walking in Truth and Love

 

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on 2 John 1-6:

“in truth and love” (2 John 3).

Whereas John’s first General Epistle (1 John) has been described as being more like a sermon or doctrinal treatise, his second epistle is clearly a letter. It begins, “The elder to the elect lady and her children…” (v. 1).  John the apostle, calls himself an elder. Peter the apostle did the same (cf. 1 Peter 5:1). His recipient, “the elect lady and her children” is likely a reference to a sister church and her members (cf. 2 John 13, “The children of thy elect sister greet thee”).

The apostle commends to this church grace, mercy and truth in the name of the triune God “in truth and love” (v. 3). Those two terms—truth and love—are in fact key themes for John.

In v. 4 he notes his delight in finding the “children [members]” of this church “walking [conducting themselves] in truth.” This likely means that he found them to be doctrinally sound. We know there were problems with false prophets or antichrists who had denied that Christ had come “in the flesh” (i.e., they denied the Lord Jesus’ true humanity) (see 1 John 4:1-3).

Friends, we glorify God when we believe right things about him. We glorify Christ when we confess right things about him. We must hold to right doctrine and walk in truth.

In vv. 5-6 John also exhorts the church to follow Christ’s New Commandment (John 13:34-35) and “love one another” (v. 5). Twice in v. 6 he uses the metaphor of walking to urge right conduct: “that we walk after his commandments” and “as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.”

So, let us evaluate ourselves and our church.

Are we walking in truth? Do we have concern to hold right doctrine?

Are we walking in love? Do we seek to love one another as Christ has loved us.

The exhortations to walk in truth and love, echoes the Great Commandment taught by Christ, Love God (by believing right things about God) and love your neighbor as yourself (cf. Mark 12:28-31).

I recently read a biography of Robert Charles (better known as R. C.) Sproul (1939-2017) (Stephen Nichols, R. C. Sproul: A Life [Crossway, 2021]).

Sproul was a Pittsburg boy who in his first year of college on an athletic scholarship was converted after sitting in on a Bible study on Ecclesiastes 11:3, “and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.” He saw himself as that fallen and rotting tree apart from Christ.

When he went home and excitedly told his liberal hometown minster of his conversion, the man answered, “If you believe in the physical resurrection, you’re a [darn] fool.” Yet Sproul did believe, and, thankfully, he found orthodox mentors to affirm and guide him.

He went on to develop a dynamic teaching ministry that would influence myriads and still has an impact today through his books, as well as video and audio archives of his teaching. He walked in truth.

He was also known for his personal ministry, his care for family and friends, his love for the church. He walked in love.

In fact, when Sproul died in 2017 his simple tombstone had only this epitaph, “HE WAS A KIND MAN REDEEMED BY A KINDER SAVIOR.”

Will such be said of us when we have finished our course? Might this be a fitting epitaph for us? Will we be found to have walked in truth and in love?

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

Word Magazine # 67: Tabletalk and Mark's Ending

I recorded and posted WM # 67 Tabletalk and Mark's Ending.   Below are my notes:

Someone recently mentioned to me that Tabletalk magazine, a publication of R. C. Sproul’s Ligonier ministries, had included in its devotional series comments on the ending of Mark.  This person sent me pics of two devotions (below with the sender’s markings and notes).  I am assuming this is from the December 2016 issue.  The devotions do not list an author so I assume they are written by someone on the editorial staff, maybe even written or approved by Sproul himself.

The first devotion (for Friday December 9) is on Mark 16:8 and titled “Fearful Women” (p. 41).

It rightly begins, “Christianity stands or falls on the historicity of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.” It proceeds to note the importance of the doctrine of the resurrection for the gospel and how that this doctrine is perennially under attack and, thus, in need of defense.  It notes the fact that in each Gospel that women were “the very first witnesses to the empty tomb.”

Finally, the devotion promises that the question of Mark’s ending will be addressed later “in more detail.” Then, it states:  “Today, we note that the oldest manuscripts of Mark end with 16:8 and the women being fearful and silent.”  From what we know of the external evidence, is this statement somewhat misleading?  The devotion closes with questions to consider “if Mark 16:8 is indeed the last verse Mark wrote.”  I do appreciate the tentative nature of that approach.

The second devotion (for Monday December 12) in on Mark 16:9-11 and titled “The Preservation of Scripture” (p. 43).

It begins noting that we moderns “take for granted technologies that allow us to make precise copies of original documents.” For the first 1,500 year of Christianity, up to the time of the invention of the printing press, the Bible was transmitted by hand copies.

It then defines “the science of textual criticism” as “the means by which we discover the original text.” It then turns to the ending of Mark, noting “most scholars believe Mark 16:9-20 was not written by the same Mark who wrote the rest of the gospel that bears his name.  Some argue that the section was written by the same author, but there are strong reasons to believe it was not.” With regards to the “most scholars” versus “some” might I suggest that perhaps modern scholars, like ancient manuscripts, should sometimes be  “weighed” rather than “counted”!

Most striking is the final paragraph:

Nevertheless, given that there is an ancient tradition that this section is part of Mark’s gospel, and because Mark 16:9-20 includes information from Matthew and Luke that we know for certain is original to those books, we believe it is wise to include this section in our study of Mark’s gospel. To understand the work of Christ, we must consider not only the empty tomb but also our Lord’s post-resurrection appearances to His disciples. These details, which are critical to proclaiming the gospel are preserved for us, for God will not allow any part of His revelation to disappear (Matthew 24:35).

I appreciate this cautious approach and especially that the conclusion comes upon consideration of the doctrine of preservation.  Unlike some modern evangelicals who suggest the radical move of rejecting Mark 16:9-20 as spurious and uninspired (see my reviews of MacArthur, Hardy, Purswell, Kruger, Delhousaye) Tabletalk follows the more cautious line of Metzger.  IMHO, this is commendable.

JTR